It's Not Easy, But It's Worth It

Galatians 6: 4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

6 Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.

7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

It’s not easy – but it’s worth it.

Funny, when people begin talking about struggles and adversities, you can almost hear defeat in those who are willing to give up and defiance in those who are willing to fight for it. Whatever it is. Each of us has something that we are willing to grind it out for, and we all have something we are not willing to work for. Usually, it’s only the things that we deem to be necessary, vital and important to us, that we put effort in to fighting for – and that’s a good thing, because of all the things in this world that we cannot afford to waste, time is one the most important. Time can never be reclaimed, once it’s spent, it’s done – no renewal, no restoration, no refueling – it’s gone – so in these days and times it’s important to decide what are going direct our efforts towards. – I find when I am doing things that are not spiritually profitable to me, I feel like I have wasted my time – that’s never good – at least for me. I

I am trying to avoid becoming despondent, disillusioned, distressed and depressed – so I hear the Word of God speaking to me from the 6th chapter of Galatians, first to remind me to

1. Concern yourself about yourself – That’s not about being selfish, it’s not about being stingy, it’s not about being self-centered – it is about being honest, informed and focused on what God wants me to do. Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. Here God is speaking to me about the need to perfect the gifts and calling which HE gave me! Although I am to have a heart and a godly concern for everyone –what others do with their calling is really not my business. What blessings and opportunities given to them is really not a cause for comparison. What struggles and difficulties is not my time to gossip about them. What I need to do is to tend to myself – and make sure I am doing what God called me to do –I cannot answer the call for anyone else. I find when I start eating other people’s spiritual plate, I get a bit of spiritual indigestion – I get a bet peeved, I get a bit angered, I get a miffed, I get a bitter, I get a bit beside myself – and that’s because I was minding someone else’s business and not attending to my own. My gifts, my calling will be called into account when I stand before the Lord – not anyone else’s – He will not ask me what I did with your gift – If I hindered you in the exercise of that gift, then I will have to answer and pay for that – but if I am tending to my own business and the exercise of my gifts, and my own satisfaction – I won’t have time to be in your business – as they say it will take me six months to mind my business and six months to leave yours alone. This comparison thing is not an east monkey to throw off my back, because I want to achieve, I want to excel, I want to progress and many times I look for markers in the road to see how close or how far I am – but the problem is when I looks to the markers, I miss the mark – my eyes and heart should be focused on the Cross – because truly that is the prize – forgetting those things which are behind me and reaching for those things ahead – I press towards the mark of the prize of the high calling of God which is in Jesus Christ.